


Paying It Back

by Duck_Life



Category: X-Force (Comics)
Genre: Aftermath of Possession, Friendship, Gen, Hawaii, Money
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-22 20:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19999126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duck_Life/pseuds/Duck_Life
Summary: Bobby takes the gang to Hawaii to celebrate the end of Reignfire. Dani has a heart-to-heart with him.





	Paying It Back

Weirdly enough, Tabs isn’t sitting next to Roberto on their flight to Hawaii. She takes the seat between Terry and Jimmy so she has continual access to their snack stashes throughout the plane ride. That leaves Dani the seat next to Roberto. 

“First class,” she remarks, buckling in. “I could get used to this.”

“Only the best for my best friends,” Bobby says, flashing her a movie star smile (that is, rehearsed and plastic) before going back to flipping through a battered copy of SkyMall. “Hey, check this out. D’you think we need a home theater setup for the warehouse?” 

Dani glances at the page. “Maybe we should start with real beds,” she suggests. “I’m not crazy about bunking with Terry again. If you thought her screaming was loud, you should hear her  _ snoring _ .”

“Good point.” 

The flight is smooth, and Dani watches out the window as the island comes into view. Almost as soon as they’re off the plane, Bobby starts shelling out money for souvenirs. He buys Jimmy a colorful Hawaiian shirt and he buys Terry a sarong. He buys leis for Tabs, Terry and Dani. He pays for dinner at some restaurant that all the guidebooks rave about. He buys tickets to a luau and refuses to tell Dani how much they cost, even though she knows they’ve gotta be pricey. He won’t let any of them pay him back. 

That’s pretty much how the first few days of their vacation go. Even when they’re just lying on the beach, Roberto can’t seem to stop spending money. 

When the cabana attendant returns with their pina coladas, Dani pulls out cash to pay him and Roberto practically swats it out of her hand. “Please, allow me,” he says, whipping out his wallet with a flourish.

“No, hotshot, I’ve got this,” Dani says, counting out the amount. “You paid for literally everything else. I’m buying your drink.”

“ _ Don’t _ , I can pay for it, I’ll pay for both of them,” he insists, nearly climbing over her beach chair to hand money to the attendant. Dani pushes him back and he lands in the sand and makes a weird sound like a bird falling out of its nest and says, “Dani, Dani,  _ please _ , I have to.” 

And he’s not being showy, he’s not joking around. He sounds like he’s literally about to start crying. 

She hands a 20 to the attendant without meeting his eyes and tells him to keep the change. Then she swings her legs over the side of her chair so she can get a better look at Roberto. “Bobby. Tell me what’s going on.”

“You shouldn’t have to pay for anything,” he says, looking down at the sand. “Especially not for  _ me _ . I have… I have so much to  _ repay _ —”

“Bobby, shut up,” she sighs, setting both of their drinks on the edge of her chair so they don’t fall over. “What do you think you owe us for? A couple of dirty motel rooms and some greasy roadside sandwiches? We’re good. We’re even. You don’t owe anyone anything.”

“You think… Dani,  _ that’s _ not what I’m trying to atone for,” he laments. “I tried to  _ kill  _ you. I tried to kill  _ all _ of you… Jimmy and Terry and Tabs, oh, God, Tabitha… Reignfire had his hooks in me and I couldn’t even scream. I couldn’t do a thing. I was fighting as hard as I could and I couldn’t stop him, and if James hadn’t got to me with that disruptor gun in time… oh, God, Dani…” 

“It’s okay,” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We got you back. We beat the bad guy, we saved the day. You can breathe now, Bobby.”

He’s still holding his wallet in his hands. He pulls out a wad of cash, sighs and shakes his head. “I thought I could just throw money at all of…  _ this… _ ” His hand goes for his chest. “Until it went away. I guess I’m turning into my father.”

“You’re not him,” Dani promises. “You’re not your father  _ or _ Reignfire. You’re Bobby da Costa. Okay? I know you. Don’t worry. I know you.” 

Bobby doesn’t get up from the sand but his breathing evens out. He calms down enough to take his pina colada and start drinking it. Dani stirs hers, making sure the rum hasn’t separated from the icy slush. 

“I just… it was never like that before,” Bobby says finally. “Even when he was messing with me, like, psychically. When that happened… it was just like I wasn’t in my right mind. But this… I  _ was _ in my mind, and he was there too. And he was in charge, and I couldn’t  _ do _ anything. I don’t… I don’t know how I come back from that.” 

“Take it from someone who’s been possessed and on fire,” Dani says, “you’re doing fine.” Bobby gives her a look and she laughs, but then she gets serious. “All that bullshit that Reignfire was saying… about how you aren’t worth it, how you’re some rich asshole who only cares about himself…” Bobby’s jaw stiffens. “Is that… do you really think that stuff?” 

He sips his pina colada. “Sometimes.” 

And then Dani’s down in the sand with him, pulling him toward her and hugging him even though they’re both sloshing pina colada mix onto their swimsuits. “Roberto da Costa, listen to me,” she says, and it’s that same fierceness in her voice she always had back in their New Mutants days. He can’t help but listen. “You are amazing. You are  _ brave _ and  _ kind  _ and you are motherfucking  _ Sunspot _ . Okay? There’s a reason none of us listened to Reignfire when he was saying all that awful stuff. He was  _ lying _ .”

“But. But he was… I  _ am _ selfish, sometimes,” Bobby says. “And arrogant.” 

“Yeah, okay, fine,” Dani says, pushing her hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, you’re arrogant and kind of a dick sometimes. I mean, there are times when you  _ really _ piss me off, right? But I always love you. And— this is important, okay, listen— you are  _ always, always _ worth saving.” Her eyes burn like she’s about to cry, which kind of pisses her off. He’s the crier, not her. “Okay? You are  _ always _ worth saving. I can’t promise I’ll always be able to save you, Bobby, but I’m always gonna  _ want to _ . I’m always gonna  _ try _ . Okay?” 

Bobby looks at her, and his eyes are wet. “Yeah. Okay,” he says. 

They sit there on the beach, surrounded by rocks and sand and water. The sun hangs like a huge egg yolk over the volcanoes. “You don’t need to buy our forgiveness,” Dani says. “Because there’s nothing to forgive.” 

She means it. 


End file.
